


Tomorrow, In A Year

by ginsugi



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Drama, Gen, Humor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-08-27
Updated: 2012-09-23
Packaged: 2017-11-13 00:59:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/497634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ginsugi/pseuds/ginsugi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a world where he has never met Reborn, Sawada Tsunayoshi lives a perfectly normal life. But he has no idea about the people he is about to meet...  TYL, AU DISCONTINUED</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. That's That

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone, I now present you my new story. As said in the summary, this story takes place TYL, but in an Alternative Universe where Tsuna never met Reborn and several other characters. There will be some important differences, but of course not everything will be changed (I try to make the changes as logical as possible). Also this story will have several chapters but how many is not decided yet, as well as potential pairings. As I began writing this story I tried to make it a serious one but as you will see there will be also humour in it (this is a KHR-fic after all).
> 
> Anyway, reviews and the like are very much appreciated :)

28 hours without sleep. Just a normal regular day for him (or better days). There had been even worse periods without sleep in his life. Anyway, it was just a phase, soon to be replaced by sleeping extensively.

He wouldn't get to sleep anywhere soon now. He was going to Japan which was just as pointless as sleeping. He himself had no business to do there but his boss had told him that it was very important that he would accompany him during that trip.

Finally, so he thought, the door opened.

"Are you ready to go?"

"Of course I am. And, by the way... don't you think that the names on our fake IDs are a bit... stupid?"

"Sure they are. Just for that reason I've chosen them. Anyway, try to cheer up a bit. Maybe the jet lag will change our weird sleep pattern for good."

In the end, it was just another day for Lambo Bovino.

* * *

On the other side of the world, Gokudera Hayato had already spent several months in Japan.

After running away from his wealthy home, he had spent his life on the streets, always trying to find jobs to make sure that he could continue living (even if that meant that he had to endure several days without food and a home).

At least that was what he told those who asked in Japan, his so-called new home.

He now knew he should have never trusted his sister in that matter.

She had assured him that going to Japan would only be for the best for him. Getting back to his roots and all that crap. She even went with him. Even though he made enough death threats to scare the shit out of most people. But unfortunately to him, his sister was not like most people. She was truly insane (another thing he told people who were stupid enough to ask him about that).

To him, nothing changed in Japan. He was still being discriminated against, yet a lot more subtle than back in Italy.

At least he had no trouble in learning Japanese. Must have been something to do with his "self-proclaimed" genius, as his sister always liked to inform him.

But one thing bugged him (besides his sister, mind you) was the fact that he was stuck in this little provincial town called Namimori. At least Tokyo was near enough, but still.

Damn his infernal sister for still treating him like a little child.

* * *

Sawada Tsunayoshi led a perfectly normal life in his hometown Namimori. He never became the robot he dreamed of becoming as a little child (that memory ranked relatively high in his list of painful thing he had to live through), but in most things, he succeeded in stop being the Dame-Tsuna he was called by virtually anyone, even by elderly people and children who went to kindergarten.

He had a normal profession (as he had always wanted), a normal home (something he always had) and well, nothing more really.

He still lived with his mom and luckily without that good-for-nothing, drunkard, childish father that was never there. Okay, he did pay all the bills... but still his father was his berserk button. He really had daddy issues. Yes, Sawada Tsunayoshi had daddy issues. Even without a dad he could live a normal, average life.

He was no Casanova either. But that was also perfectly normal, as he always said to himself. Especially when he got rejected (but that's another story).

At least he was friends with a really nice girl, Sasagawa Kyoko. But yeah, just being a friend kinda sucked. Big time.

* * *

Friday afternoon, 2 pm. Time to get some of best chocolate cakes in all of Namimori.

A young girl with long blonde hair with a touch of orange and beside her another young girl with short brown hair queued in line to get of one the objects of their desire.

As they finally got hold of the treasured pieces of bakery mastery, both sat at the same table and started to exchange their opinions about the quality of the cake. Sorry, no stupid bubbly girls talk.

The two young girls (or should we say young women) had even their first meeting in this café. Coincidentally both Sasagawa Kyoko and Miura Haru had to habit to have one special day each month to indulge in their love for cakes. This fact was enough for them to become best friends and as the time went by they realized that had more things in common.

Heck, they even went to the same university together.

Outside the shop the two were soon to be interrupted by Kyoko's older brother Ryohei who did his daily jogging routine (that could easily last for several hours) while shouting in regular intervals "EXTREME!"

With such a brother, Kyoko could even stay relaxed if the world would come to end (according to Haru).

* * *

Opposite the café was a ramen shop. Everything perfectly normal with that.

Well, except for the fact that the owner was secretly a superb Chinese martial artist named Fon. Of course no one knew that. And nobody knew what he had done before that in his life. The reason that situation caught no attention? False papers were ridiculously easy to forge.

Fon led the ramen shop together with his "daughter" I-Pin. Basically the work was shared this way: Fon cooked the meals and I-Pin had to deal with the customers. Luckily most of them were nice, except some guy called Kawahira who would almost always complain.

"Again an order from our... very special customer."

"Oh no, not again. But I guess it can't be helped."

"That's the spirit."

As she stepped out on the streets to deliver the ramen, I-Pin mentally prepared herself for another of Uncle Kawahira's ramblings about soggy noodles and whatnot.

* * *

On the other side on the street, Yamamoto Takeshi was on his way to his family's sushi restaurant.

He always wanted to be good son for his father, especially after that incident that nearly cost his life and ruined his potential career as a baseball player. Instead of achieving his childhood dream, he now worked as a baseball coach. At least it was better than nothing. But Yamamoto ignored negative thoughts, peculiarly about that part of his life, on a regular basis.

"Yo."

"Takeshi, you do know that you don't have to do this."

"Don't worry, I like doing this. I mean, it's what every good son would do, isn't it?"

* * *

Hibari Kyoya was, as usual, on his patrol across Namimori.

Everywhere he went, the people fell silent and stopped immediately no matter what they were doing (given the fact they they dared to show up when he was around).

The people in Namimori even had profit, from Hibari's antics (believe it or not). For example the crime rate in Namimori was exceptionally low. Okay, if one does not include the necessities that the

unoffical ruler of this little town had to commit for the sake of the enforcement of the rules. The school rules of Namimori Middle School, to be exact.

Unfortunately, no disobedience against the rules could be detected that day. What a drag.

Damn those herbivores.

* * *

In her little apartment, a young woman named Nagi, tried to study for an exam at university.

Ultimately, she failed to do that.

Damn (even a timid person like her was capable of swearing) those new neighbors.

To be specific, her brand new neighbors. They were very mysterious. All she knew about them was that they suddenly moved into the apartment next to her where previously an old woman lived. All of this happened very fast, maybe too fast, she sometimes thought. What also was very strange was that, despite the fact that all apartments in the block were very small, three people, all of them male, were living next to her. She hadn't even seen any of them, all see knew about them she concluded because at night she could her them discussing all night (the walls were very thin).

Maybe she should get already to sleep. At any rate this was better than wasting her precious time over people she didn't know.

She only hoped she wouldn't get any nightmares, which she lately seemed to have very often.

Tomorrow would be another day, for sure.


	2. Take Care of Yourself

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In a world where he has never met Reborn, Sawada Tsunayoshi lives a perfectly normal life. But he has no idea about the people he is about to meet... TYL, AU

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! First of all, I really didn't expect that so many people would like this story. All this support means a lot to me, thank you guys! I hope that I won't crush the expectations of some people here but I do try my very best to make this poor piece of writing as enjoyable as I can. Also, thanks to my reviewers I found out that the town where our dear protagonists live is actually called Namimori (yeah, you can all laugh at me right now). And yeah, of course will Reborn himself will appear in this story but that will be later and I'm not telling when;) So anyway, enjoy my failed attempt at humour. I've done my best. I swear.

Sawada Tsunayoshi went to work. Like every day, nothing spectacular. Although he would never admit it, secretly he was disappointed at his life. Okay, he had a job which paid off well, he was neither homeless nor mentally unstable, but still, something was missing. The problem was he didn't know exactly what that was. He always thought and said was he was happy and content with his life if someone asked, but somehow there was still a void.

But to be honest, Tsuna knew exactly what was missing. A social life.

Yes, it's as sad and pathetic as it sounds.

At least now that he was working his social standing changed. Maybe a bit. A little. Well, at least he wasn't everybody's punching bag anymore.

"Hey, Sawada, could you please check these reports for me? You know, my girlfriend and I are having a date today and I can't be bothered to be late at any rate. Geez, I have to hurry. Anyway, you're the best. Bye." And with that one of Tsuna's co-workers rushed out of the office. What a nice guy.

_Why does things like always seem to happen to me? I didn't even have the chance to say no. But I guess it can't be helped. Otherwise I may be even fired and I can't let that happen. Man, I would also like to have a girlfriend, going on dates..._

"Sawada! I told you a thousand times not to slack off during work! I bet you don't have half of your work done and it's already, let me see, 4 pm.", shouted his boss, also one of the very nice people Tsuna had to deal with on a regular basis.

"Oh yeah, well... I do my best. I swear."

"If you want to keep your job, you better stop talking and start working."

_Then why does he starts talking to me? That doesn't make any sense whatsoever._

Unbeknownst to him, he had absolutely no idea about what was going to happen that day.

* * *

After painful hours of demanding work, including doing stuff that he was obviously not qualified for in any way and almost losing all what was left of his sanity, Sawada Tsunayoshi made his way to the nearest restaurant he could find. Unfortunately, he had no idea where to find one. The problem was that Tsuna became over the time very picky concerning his choice of eating place. Sometimes he mentally cursed his mother's brilliant cooking skills. Of course there were also other reasons but they were far too embarrassing to admit.

As the young man was walking along the road, he spotted a person, possibly a teenager, feeding stray cats. Because this teen was the only other person around, Tsuna decided to ask him if he knew by any chance a good restaurant. After all, it was worth a shot. And most importantly, what could possibly go wrong?

"Excuse me."

No reaction. Okay, second try.

"Excuse me, mister."

Nope, still no sign of reaction. Perhaps a different strategy will work.

With that in mind, Tsuna approached the boy. Just as he was about to make contact with him, the boy, or better said young man, was faster.

"I already heard what you said." was his short response.

_Wait a minute, haven't I seen this guy before? He seems awfully familiar._

"Eh, then why didn't you answer me the first time I asked?"

"I decided to ignore you."

_That guy has apparently no idea of social skills._

"Why did you do that? It's not really friendly, you know."

"Well, you didn't recognize me. So why should I acknowledge you being here?"

 _Shit, I knew I knew him from somewhere. But from where do_ _we_   _presumably know each other? He definitely can't be someone from middle or high school, he looks much too young for that. What age could he be, anyway? Barely eighteen, I guess._

"Sorry, but I have no idea where we could have met each other. Could you please give me a hint?"

"Okay," he sighed. "I work with you every day. I even have my desk beside. I'm Kozart Enma."

Oh, that was unexpected.

"You are... But that's... What are doing here anyway?"

"Doing what I do every day."

_What was it that I wanted to ask? Damn, I feel so stupid. He must think that I am some kind of jerk who doesn't care about the people around him. I have to fix this, immediately._

"Well, Kozart-san, would you like to eat out with me? You know, it's what co-workers usually do, isn't it? Maybe... Do you happen to know a restaurant near here that's any good?"

He hesitated. Tsuna could clearly see it in his face, especially the way he averted his eyes and sighed. After seconds which seemed to drag on for hours and copious amounts of awkward silence, Kozart Enma finally answered.

"I do know some good restaurant around here, except that it's a bit far away from here. We would have to walk for about ten minutes to get there." Enma said.

(Page break)

"So, Kozart-san, where are you taking me exactly? I mean, we have been walking for more than ten minutes already and I'm starting to get really hungry."

It was the best to say that Sawada Tsunayoshi was not the best at initiating conversations with new people. Especially people like Kozart Enma. Apparently Kozart wasn't someone who liked to talk. At all. Every time Tsuna started to ask him something, he would either say nothing at all or give just laconic answers. After almost losing all hope for a normal small talk, Tsuna decided to just stop trying even if that meant enduring awkward silence.

After about seemingly endless twenty minutes, the awkward duo arrived at their destination.

A sushi shop.

* * *

Luckily the shop was still open. Tsuna himself wondered why in the world his new acquired companion (even if he was rather strange) was taking him to a sushi shop. Sushi itself was good food, but not something you ate every day as if it was perfectly normal. At least in his world.

"Um, Kozart-san, why did you choose this location?"

_And why did I even have the idea for all this?_

"Why I chose this place? Well, the food is reasonably good although not many people frequent it. Because of this the prices are lower than in other sushi shops. That's why."

"I see. But... why in the world are the people who work here?" Tsuna said as they stepped into the shop.

Of course, Enma didn't answer Tsuna. By now, Tsuna thought that this strange guy had quite obviously a bizarre understanding of social etiquette. Trying not to waste too much thought on that, Tsuna began to get the attention of the staff. Similarly to other things in his life, he didn't succeed.

"Okay, I'm done. Sorry, Kozart-san but I can't waste my time waiting for someone to serve me when apparently no one is here. Hell, if the service here is always is so bad no wonder nobody ever goes here." And with that Tsuna made his way to the door only to almost crash into the shops owners.

Yeah, the universe probably hates Sawada Tsunayoshi. A lot.

"Wasn't the door locked? But who cares, welcome to our sushi shop!" Laughed the younger one of the two men who entered the place.

_How can he be happy about this? We could have stolen all their money and trashed the place if we wanted to. Okay, not me, but others sure_ _ly would!_

"Okay...Then we would like to order."

* * *

Little did they know that the following events would later go down in history. The history of the sushi shop, to be exact. Not much can be remembered by the participants, but truly it was a legendary night. Or something like that.

It has to be said that Sawada Tsunayoshi wasn't exactly one able to hold his liquor and thus, he rarely touched a drink except for formal occasions where he would simply nip on his drink. But alas, his companion Kozart Enma had the reputation to never get drunk along the bars of Namimori. And, after having a few drinks, he became extremely persuasive. Much to Tsuna's misfortune.

Several drinks later...

"Hey you, barman you, gimme another drink, for God's sake!" Tsuna said furiously while shaking his glass (well, as furiously as he could get which wasn't a lot, though).

Said "barman", Yamamoto Takeshi, was very amused by the two visitors of his family's sushi shop.

Somehow, he wasn't very sure, he thought that had seen one of the two men. The brown-haired man, to be specific. This crazy, gravity-defying hair which never seemed to have seen a proper comb was awfully familiar, it almost scared Yamamoto. But he had absolutely no clue where he could have seen it before because it would have certainly caught his attention. To save his sanity, he decided against finding out who that man exactly was. Also, he would probably never see him again, so it didn't matter anyway.

"I need a friggin drink man, hurry up!"

Yeah, and he didn't want to see him again either.

* * *

The next day Tsuna waked up with a massive headache. And a pineapple on his night stand.

Wait what?!

With a rush of adrenalin, Tsuna spurted down the stairs to ask his mother. She had to know something. For example what he had done last night. And how in the name of logic he had brought home a pineapple out of all things.

Just as he about to speak, his mobile phone ringed. Much to his own surprise he received a new text message from... Enma?

_How did he get my phone number? I don't remember him giving it... But I don't remember as well why I brought a pineapple home. Heck, I hate pineapples!_

"Hey Sawada, last night you were very drunk, for sure. I still can't believe that you did, well, you know what. I mean, I wouldn't have done it, but hey the results were awesome. Anyway, it was fun with you, we should definitely meet up another time. You really are an entertainer. But hey, take care of yourself. Enma." read Tsuna out loud.

At least Tsuna had not to go to work that day. His headache was killing him, it felt like his brain hated him for being so careless with alcohol and revenged itself with causing him terrible pain.

"I never drink again. Ever. No more alcohol in this house." he said to himself as he searched for some remedy.

Suddenly his mom, always with the best timing, entered the kitchen and cheerfully proclaimed that his father would come to visit next week.

Life surely couldn't get any better for Sawada Tsunayoshi.

_Curse you, universe..._


	3. Both Of You Argue Like You Want To Win

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In a world where he has never met Reborn, Sawada Tsunayoshi lives a perfectly normal life. But he has no idea about the people he is about to meet... TYL, AU

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everybody! As you can see, I have just finished the next chapter for my story. I hope I won't disappoint anyone here. Personally, I think I could have done better but I'm not the one to judge. Thanks a lot to my reviewers The Mouse Maestro and Pineapple the Fourth, your feedback means much to me. Reviews are still very welcome by the way. Anyway, enjoy!

Gokudera Hayato was not an easy person, he never was. Maybe when he was very little, three or four years old perhaps, he was some kind of agreeable human being but if so, he couldn't remember any of it. And he concluded that it was definitely better that way.

Life in Japan was almost the same as in Italy. At least it was the same for Gokudera. It didn't matter to him which country he lived in, he was miserable anyway. And no, he didn't need help, thank you very much.

Unfortunately, his sister thought otherwise. His half-sister, to be specific. Mysteriously, she did not want to leave him alone and this was something he, despite his genius, could not understand. If he were in her shoes, he would not bother with her and everything would be fine.

In the end he thought that this was just his luck. Or maybe aliens or a government conspiracy. All these possibilities were, according to him, very much possible.

* * *

He didn't know why he even came here.

But he suspected that this also didn't matter at this point anymore.

Sadly he wasn't alone in this godforsaken place. He was surrounded by inconsequential people who were not important enough to be noticed by him. He was not arrogant or stuck-up, no (deep down he sometimes hated himself), but no one here was worth his precious time.

The place itself reflected the people who were there at the moment quite good. Poor, seemingly soulless, creatures were assembled at this very place. Naturally, this "assembly" had a purpose although nobody in there knew any of the other human beings in the room. But this fact didn't matter at all. Everyone knew exactly why they were there.

All of the sad excuses for proper individuals gathered there had only one goal in mind. One precious goal which they wanted to reach so desperately. All of their dreams were just one step away from being fulfilled if there was not one big obstacle.

"Che, how long does a man has to wait before he finally gets served?" asked Gokudera to no one in particular.

The place he went to? A ramen shop. Duh.

* * *

Meanwhile, two men walked the streets of Namimori.

To be exact, those two walked the whole day aimlessly through the small town. Luckily to them, not a soul seemed to take particular notice of the two foreigners (as lot foreigners appeared to inhabit Namimori those days).

Of course running around all day eventually left these guys hungry and it took no time for them to come to the conclusion to look for a place where one could get an affordable meal. As they began their search, another equally strange duo caught their attention (but not in a good way). The other duo consisted of two awkward men behaving rather... weird. One of them, a redhead, held a bottle of liquor while singing quite annoying songs about drinking while the other one, well… words failed to describe it. Besides screaming profanities at passers-by, he held a banana and a pear in his hands while doing an improvised speech in the middle of the road.

After being in a transfixed state for about five minutes because of these weird drunken men, the two men decided to finally to stop staring like idiots and move on to their destination. Said destination was actually right in front of them: a small nondescript restaurant. At least this was better than having to look at these drunken morons.

* * *

Eventually, someone served Gokudera Hayato. But of course this didn't happen without various threats on Gokudera's side. He really did scare the young girl who was the one with the painful job of serving him. Seriously, Gokudera Hayato was a very fearsome customer, especially when he got ignored.

Just as he was about to at last eat his ramen, some bastards made him burn his tongue as they stepped into the store. In his mind, Gokudera wanted to strangle them already and rip their throats out. Apparently the anger management that sister had forced him to do was ultimately a failure.

Just as it couldn't get any much worse, the intruders decided to sit next to him. Sometimes, he thought, all shitty things seemed to happen only to him. So, the rest of the night was ruined. But fortunately Gokudera could stand long intervals of silence and because he did not, under any circumstances, engaged in conversations with strangers on his own (or virtually anyone for that matter). And of course these two people, which seemed European to Gokudera, wouldn't, completely out of the blue, start talking to him. After some thinking he came to the conclusion that these strangers obviously had no idea about the customs here and what was considered rude. Not that he cared anyway. Probably they weren't able to speak Japanese anyway so he could care less about them.

But that was after they began talking to each other in Italian.

And now Gokudera had to endure sitting through a conversation which he didn't want to be a part of until he was finished with his meal. Damn his sister for insisting that she does all the cooking with any exception. All efforts were in vain to try and convince her that she was in no way possible a good cook (maybe in a parallel universe where the people have no sense of taste).

As usual, thing got worse, much worse. Those strangers actually started to talk to him. In Italian. What a incredible night for Gokudera Hayato. Again.

But these imbeciles did not know Gokudera. He would not engage in useless talk, no way. Besides, he could always pretend to not understand Italian. At times Gokudera wondered how stupid people could be and yes, it appeared that stupidity seemed to know no bounds.

"Sorry, I don't know any Italian," Said Gokudera after he decided to try and be polite in his best English.

"Then why do know that we spoke in Italian?" Said one of them with a goofy smile on his face.

Gokudera was speechless for minute. Although he was a self-proclaimed genius the argument of that man was tough to counter, even for him. He had to think and very fast for that matter. And on top of all, not lose his composure in front of these strangers. Who knew what they might be up to.

"I don't talk to strangers. It's as simple as that."

"Ah, that's why you had that permanent scowl on your face. Come on, try to cheer up a bit. Talking to strangers is fun, I do it all the time." Said the other man whose hair resembled a mop for reasons unknown.

"Geez, just leave me alone before I get angry."

"So, are you Italian or not? I mean, I'm just curious, that's all."

"I said, leave me alone, dammit. I don't need to make conversation, thank you very much."

"Well, then you can't be Japanese. I heard that Japanese people are always so polite and all. And you're behaving like the complete opposite right now. Am I right with my theory?"

"Che, that doesn't even make sense. You should better think before you open your mouth. By the way, how old are you even? Brats like you should be asleep by now."

"Ha, you started talking, that's great. Before you ask, we're here on a very confidential mission, so we won't tell you anything. But of course that doesn't mean that we can't befriend locals while we're at it, right? And yeah, I haven't slept for almost two days now."

All that Gokudera could think of was that these strangers were extremely weird. The one who initiated the conversation in the first place had failed to contribute anything else yet but had obviously a hard time suppressing his laugh. It almost made him boil with rage but he did not wanted to stoop so low. He wasn't a teenager who could be easily provoked.

"Yeah, right. You're on a very special mission. Escaped from the mental asylum or what? Listen, I don't care what you do or don't do. Leave me in peace and everything will be alright."

"Hm, you don't seem to have many friends, now do you? I mean, I get angry and stuff and it can get very scary but I bet that you're secretly very lonely. You know, I can see things like that immediately. Anyway, what's your name? I'd like to know the names of the people I talk to."

The only thing that could be seen as positive was that these two, especially that young mop-haired guy, were too stupid to be dangerous. But the big problem was how Gokudera could get rid of them as fast as possible. Because even a highly intelligent person as Gokudera got tired of being logical, he concluded that it was the best to threw his common sense to the ground and beat those morons with their own tactic.

Sadly, Gokudera had no idea how to be that on purpose. So he became aggressive instead. What a genius indeed.

"If you don't stop talking this crap, I will beat you into a pulp, do you understand? Seriously, do you even listen to yourself when you talk? In have no idea why I even bother with you. You, mister, should be glad that I even look at you. Hey, are you even listening to me?"

"Sorry, did you just say something? I way away for a moment... Your name is Gokudera, is that right?

"How do you know that, you stupid brat?" Gokudera's mind was surely playing tricks on him right now. This was the only explanation.

"Oh, it's just on these papers in front of you. Also, don't you miss something?"

"I don't miss anything, you insolent brat... Wait, there's my food?

Now that was it. First, he gets annoyed by complete strangers and then his food gets stolen. It was finally time for some revenge. Gokudera-style.

* * *

Needless to said, for all the other customers and the owner of the ramen shop it was a very unusual sight. It's not like every day they got to see people yelling at each other like crazy and that in a foreign language. It almost seemed that these men wanted to kill each other. People going completely crazy were not  _that_ unusual in Namimori (in fact, it did happen almost daily) but still, people fighting with such ferocity was quite a thing. Just like a car crash or something similar where you can't resist the urge to look although you know you shouldn't.

"Do you think we should stop them, Fon? I think it's not healthy if an argument looks like a violent competition."

"Let them be. You see, they're leaving the restaurant at the moment."

And indeed they were. While still screaming and without them noticing. Until the dark-haired one shouted that they were coming back tomorrow.

"I think I'm scared now."

* * *

Outside the ramen shop the argument continued. Even louder if that was even possible. So long that no one knew why that argument even started in the first place. It could have continued for hours...

If it weren't for for a weird guy who had the nerve to interrupt them to start preaching about the urgency the free the fruit of Namimori from slavery.

Dumbfounded by that, both Gokudera and the guy who still hadn't introduced himself stopped arguing right away. The situation just became too ridiculous to not laugh about it.

The preachy fruit guy was found a minute later by his worried friend who tried to get him back to his senses but no to avail.

Meanwhile, Gokudera was apparently so much out of his mind that he arranged a meeting with those guys on the following day for a rematch. It had to be mentioned that Gokudera hated to lose (although no winner came out of this so-called match).

"So that means that we're friends, right?"

"Friends? Never, you stupid dumb brat."

In retrospect, this day was quite normal compared to what would follow.


	4. The Name Game

Slowly he reached for his pack of cigarettes in the pocket of his jacket. He had no idea why he was even waiting but he had nothing to do either way so he thought that this was better than staring at his ceiling all day.

But they did not come.

Surprisingly, he was disappointed. Somehow. It wasn't that he desperately hoped that they would meet again after this incident the night before but it would have been a nice change for once in a while. Because normally, life wasn't that fun for him (somehow, occasional heavy arguments with strangers counted as fun activities in Gokudera's world).

So, after half an hour of waiting which was a new personal record for him, he entered the restaurant and asked if the strangers somehow showed up. In an instance of a feeling that could hardly be described, he asked the random person at the counter whether they had somehow left a note or anything like that. Much to his own surprise, Gokudera was informed that indeed they had left a small note for him.

The note itself was not that helpful. It merely said that due to an unexpected incident the so-called meeting had to be cancelled. Nothing about "Hey, let's meet on a different day" or something like that.

It wasn't that Gokudera insisted on the meeting. And definitely it wasn't because he was lonely after all, that would be purely ridiculous. He was just... bored. He had nothing of value to do. He did study but that wasn't important to him. It didn't challenge him at all. In fact, he did not need to study; his family was insanely rich due to operating in special businesses so worries about money were unheard of. Everytime he wanted to escape this situation and finally become independent, it eventually got him back in the end. If he wanted to or not.

"Why do I even think about this?" Yelled Gokudera. He had left the restaurant without even noticing it and was now standing in the middle of the street. The few people who walked the street were giving him dirty looks.

"I think I need another cigarette."

* * *

Another day and probably again working overtime. As usual. But that was not bad for Sawada Tsunayoshi, not at all. He liked it when things were normal. Especially when they were so normal to the point when they got completely boring. Of course his job was also a very boring and uninteresting one. He worked at an insurance company and was entirely content with that. And now he even had found a new friend at work, Kozart Enma. Although he was, and that was not meant to be derogative, even more socially awkward than Tsuna. And that signified something to say the least.

However, even Sawada Tsunayoshi could not work all day in his beloved unexciting job without a break or two. And said breaks turned out to very out to be very surprising now that Tsuna had found a friend in Enma. Despite being very socially awkward, this guy seemed to know everything about people and that wasn't even a hyperbole. Be it co-workers, neighbours, famous people or just the random homeless person on the street, Enma was a new-found source of wisdom for Tsuna. Maybe being ignored by everybody did have somehow a positive side. Even if that positive side was being able to eavesdrop everybody.

"You know Enma, maybe you should reconsider your profession. As a secret agent you would be perfect," Said Tsuna as he chewed on his food.

"Don't say things like that, Tsuna. Loser Enma never will be secret agent although that would be really cool, if I think about it. Anyway, have you heard about these robberies that happened in the past days?"

"Actually, no."

"Well, you know the thing is that the police don't say anything but I heard rumours that the robbers left absolutely no traces behind them. Everything is of course very mysterious. Personally, I think that these robberies were committed by the same people. I mean, normally in Namimori happens nothing important."

"Maybe it's because of, what-his-name-again, eh, Hibari Kyoya. Everyone here knows that he hates disturbances of any kind in Namimori with a passion. Perhaps he wants to take out the criminals himself."

"Who's that Hibari Kyoya? I never heard of him. But you know, I just moved to this town a year ago."

Tsuna shuddered on the thought of Hibari Kyoya. Mainly because he was the reason for Tsuna to wake up in the middle of night in fear of getting late to school. He still had these nightmares. A therapist would have a field day with him, he sometimes thought.

"Well, Hibari Kyoya was the school prefect of Namimori Middle School and he still thinks he is. And he thinks that he has the responsibility to enforce the school rules of his beloved school. Nobody knows exactly how old he is and what he even does to earn his money. Usually, people here avoid him like a pest. You can consider yourself lucky that you never crossed his path. He would bite you to death."

"Bite you to death? That sounds rather silly. A dog can bite someone to death but not a human being. That just sounds ridiculous."

"To be honest, I sometimes doubt that this Hibari Kyoya is even a human."

"Okay, if you say so," Enma said rather hesitantly. After this description he had no intention in ever meeting this person. He himself had enough problems to deal with.

* * *

Days had passed and Gokudera Hayato didn't expect that he would ever meet these strangers again. He decided that this was for the better. Really, he had a lot of more important things to do than to waste his time on people he knew literally nothing of. The problem was that Gokudera was highly curious, although he rarely admitted it. In his mind he had already speculated where exactly these strangers came from and what their plans were. But he couldn't help it. He met people in the broadest sense of the word everyday so it should be this time any different. Maybe he was just going insane. Didn't he have an uncle who was currently in a mental asylum? So obviously he was indeed on the edge on getting totally paranoid. What a nice turn of events.

What he really needed in a situation like this was a good cup of simple black coffee. Perhaps then he could block these irritating thoughts and concentrate on much more important stuff. But where could he get a cup of coffee? Everywhere one got suffocated with latte macchiato, cappuccino and double mocha chocolate crap. He just wanted to a simple, nice little cup of coffee. How complicated could that be? Or maybe he just needed sleep. A lot of sleep. Or a vacation. Or both.

"Well, it seems that someone here is very distressed these days. Or isn't it so, Gokudera?"

Gokudera immediately turned around to see who dared to bother him. He really had more important stuff to do than to cope with idiots who think that they could provoke him. He would give this person a lecture they would never forget, that was for sure.

"I have enough of people who try to make fun of me or who try to bother me with their crap. It's not going to work. Seriously. And now would you please do me a favour and fuck off. Thank you," said Gokudera while his eyes were closed. He had a reputation to lose and therefore he had to look as cool as possible. And now he would open his eyes and see his method succeeding. Damn straight.

But as he opened his eyes he did not see what he expected. Gokudera Hayato was shocked. He almost couldn't close his mouth or avert his stare.

"You... God why... How... What the hell happened to your face?"

* * *

"And that's why I am never allowed to go to the zoo in Osaka again."

"Eh, Enma that's not a very good story to be honest."

"But I have no better stories," Enma sighed. Actually he did have some stories to tell. But none of them were particularly entertaining or happy. Just typical for Loser Enma.

"Don't be sad, Enma. I mean, I don't have any interesting stories to tell as well. But that's nothing bad. You know, many people don't like normal things but I love them."

Enma had to try hard not to raise his eyebrow. He already knew that Tsuna liked being completely normal but somehow his love for normality went too far. Sometimes he thought what Tsuna do if something unexpected would happen in his life. He definitely would go crazy or something worse. And that would be terrible because he knew what Tsuna was like when he was drunk.

"Anyway, Tsuna... Anything new at your home?"

Tsuna suddenly shrugged his head. He thought that he could ignore  _that thing_ until it was ultimately in front of him. He wished that he would just wake up and what his mother said would turn out to be a very bad dream. But it was no use in pretending, he had to face reality.

"Well, my father comes back to visit my mother and me."

"That's awesome! But why do you look like you're about to vomit? Have you eaten something bad?"

"No, it's just... To be frank, I can't stand my father. He left my mother and me alone while he is one the other end of the world to work, that bastard. He could look for a job around here, but no, he  _had_ to get a job so far away that he doesn't show up for years. And then he is around he is just embarrassing."

"You know, Tsuna, you shouldn't say that about your father. Really, you should be lucky that your father and your mother are still alive and happy. Many people would love to have a father, even if he is away for most of the time."

"If you say so, Enma."

* * *

Hibari Kyoya was enraged. He was furious. He was deeply humiliated. His beloved order and the discipline in his cherished hometown of Namimori appeared to diminish from day-to-day and there was nothing he could do about it. Something he had never thought possible happened. The Disciplinary Committee was powerless.

Any other person in his position maybe would have freaked out or had a heart attack. But not him. He wouldn't allow any herbivores to destroy his pride right in front of his eyes.

The problem was that too many incidents happened at the same time and no connection could be detected. It was really troublesome. In fact it so troublesome that he couldn't get to his sacred naps.

But somehow, he would get these criminal herbivores in the end. Soon, one of the would make a crucial mistake and shortly after that, the others would follow. He only had to be patient.

Unfortunately, Hibari Kyoya despised waiting.

* * *

"I think we should go back to work, Enma."

"Yeah, the time's almost up. So let's go then."

And with that they went slowly back to work. That was, until Tsuna abruptly stopped in his tracks. He sensed the presence of something, perhaps even someone, but he wasn't able to detect what precisely he felt. He only had the bad feeling that someone was watching him. And no, it was not his choleric boss. Probably it would be better to just shrug the uneasy feeling off. He didn't intend to get even more neurotic than he already was.

"Hey Tsuna! You better run or we both get to work even more today than we already do."

* * *

Gokudera Hayato couldn't believe his eyes.

That brat from the evening he tried to forget was standing right before him. That alone wouldn't cause a person like Gokudera to get shocked. It was more the fact how that brat looked like. Gokudera didn't remember every single detail of their previous meeting but he was sure that he wouldn't have missed  _that_  detail. Apart from _that_  he looked like he hadn't slept in days. Also his clothes looked so old and worn that he almost looked like a different person. But the clothes were nothing compared to the bloodstained bandage that covered one of the brat's eye.

"Just... Just what the hell did you do, you dumb brat? Anyway, tell me your name immediately and I get you to a hospital so that you'll stop pestering me, you heard me."

But the brat just grinned (like an idiot according to Gokudera).

"What about that we're going to drink something before. I have the desperate need for some hot chocolate and cake. And," he sighed as he made a long pause," I guess I could tell you my name. Maybe. It depends."

Great. The brat was still an utter idiot. Or just trying to fuck with his mind. Or probably both.

"Just tell me your name or I'll get you into the hospital either way."

"Calm down, no need to get angry at me. Geez. Don't you understand a joke? But duh, if you want a name, you can have one. Just call me Lambo, okay?"

"That's the stupidest name I've ever heard."

"You're really nice today."

"Don't act like you know me brat!"

"So, are we going or not?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I know this nice café here. It's a better place to talk than just here in the street. Anyway, I'm hungry."

Somewhat enraged, Gokudera and Lambo made their way to the café. That brat (Gokudera was too used by now to call him that way) sure had a lot of explaining to do.


End file.
